I’ve never been good at farewells. I’ll give the hugs and
the best wishes and the smiles, but I don’t typically express my inner thoughts on such occasions. The words just don’t come to me in the moment. As
this wonderful summer ends, I’m left with many feelings. I’ve made some great
friends this year. I’ve also made many acquaintances with whom I would not mind
becoming friends in the future. I won’t lie and say that I’m going to miss
everyone from UTH 2015 equally. But I will miss the community as a whole. I’ll
miss the performances and the canteen. I’ll miss the environment and the people
that made it a good place to be. And then there are those individuals with whom
I shared more than passing conversation, the ones I spent time with, talking,
eating, playing games, worshipping, drinking coffee, hiking, fellowshipping. There are
individuals who have, whether they know it or not, stolen pieces of my heart,
and they’re spreading out across the nation (and in one case off to the
nation’s hat).
And you know what? It sucks. I came into this summer
cautiously. Last summer was okay, but I often felt alone throughout it—that’s not
a jab at anyone from the company of UTH 2014. I just had a lot of emotional
baggage holding me down and I was terrified of trusting new people. This year,
at the beginning, I was still afraid to let my walls down. But somehow the
walls gradually cracked and I’ve opened up to a handful of folk about the
things in my head, the internal dramas and harebrained schemes and the feelings
I don’t usually share. Somehow, I’ve found new people who I trust, which is
both frightening and elating. Some of these discoveries happened early in the
summer. Some of them happened recently. Either way, I am sad to leave those
individuals who begot my trust this summer.
I’m not going to name specific people. I hope the way I
speak to you in person, the moments I’ve let my walls down in front of you, the
quiet smiles and eye contact, the hours I’ve spent with you, are enough that
you each know who you are, that you know that I am thankful for every moment
with you this summer, that I care about you, that I look forward to when we
meet again, and that you have, in the brief time we’ve spent together, been a
blessing to me. I hope I’ve been half the friend you’ve been to me. You have been
wonderful, and I hope our friendship continues far into the future. Thank you.
And I do wish and pray and bid you to fare well in all your endeavors. May our
paths cross again soon.
With love,
Dan
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| The table setting for the last family dinner of the season. Love you all. |
